Kateryna Schwartz10:17, 18.12.24

According to Zelensky, Ukraine is not currently in a position of weakness, but neither is it in a position of strength for negotiations.

Ukraine currently does not have the strength to win back territory from Russia. Ukrainians can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this in an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien.

At the same time, he expressed surprise at the West’s weak position:

“Why haven’t we been massively armed since the beginning of the war? My speech may seem impudent. But I have the impression that everyone is afraid of Putin’s Russia. He enjoys impunity. We need a strong America and Europe to put pressure on Putin and stop this war.”

According to Zelensky, Ukraine is not currently in a position of weakness, but neither is it in a position of strength for negotiations.

“Are we in NATO? We don’t know. Will we be part of the European Union? Yes, in the future, but when? Sitting down with Putin under these conditions would give him the right to decide everything in our part of the world. First, we have to develop a model, an action plan or a peace plan, whatever you call it. Then we can hand it over to Putin or, more broadly, to the Russians,” he said.

The President emphasized that no leader in the world has the right to negotiate with Putin without Ukraine:

“We never delegated this mandate to anyone. We are the victims. It would be unfair if everyone started saying how the country should live. The French in France, the Italians in Italy, or the Americans in the USA know what they want for themselves. Ukrainians too.”

(c)UNIAN 2024